1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a service flow identifier management method, and more particularly, relates to an apparatus for managing a service flow identifier in a wireless communication system, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A broadband wireless access (BWA) system that supports a portable Internet (e.g., WiBro) or IEEE 802.16 provides Internet services with various levels of quality of service (QoS) to a user with low speed mobility. Such a system uses a connection identifier and a service flow identifier to transmit a control message and user data between a mobile station and a base station. The connection identifier is an identifier uniquely allocated to each connection in one base station.
The mobile terminal and the base station determine a destination of a packet based on the connection identifier of a received packet in a radio network. When the mobile station performs handoff while receiving a service from a current base station to a new base station, the new base station generates a new connection identifier for the corresponding mobile station terminal and allocates the new connection identifier to the mobile station.
A service flow identifier is generated by a service flow identifier managing server upon a service request of the mobile station and is not changed when the mobile station performs handoff. The service flow identifier can be used as a unique identifier for determining a connection service of the mobile station. Such a service flow identifier is generated by a connection generation message and deleted by a connection release message transmitted from the mobile terminal.
A service flow identifier and a connection identifier have a 1:1 or 1:0 relationship. A packet access router (PAR) that controls a base station in a typical wireless communication system sets a QoS parameter set of dynamic service-related messages to a provision set when generating or changing a connection in a portable Internet system. In this case, a service flow identifier is allocated for the connection but a connection identifier is not allocated. However, when a connection between a service flow identifier and a connection identifier corresponds to an admitted set or an active set, the connection is allocated with resources including radio resources as well as a connection identifier.
As described above, the service flow identifier is a unique identifier that can determine connection establishment of one mobile station in one service provider network, and therefore, it needs to be separately managed. Conventionally, a service flow identifier is managed by a centralized method.
According to the centralized method, one service flow identifier managing server is provided in a network for managing all service flow identifiers. Therefore, the mobile station requests a service flow identifier from the service flow identifier managing server when establishing a connection with each base station, and requests service flow identifier deletion from the server when releasing the connection.
Although the centralized service flow identifier managing method can efficiently manage service flow identifiers, the number of control messages transmitted for service flow identifier management is increased and an error in one service flow identifier managing server may affect the overall system.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.